I always wanted to be an architect for as long as I could remember. Being an architect was admirable, commendable, goal worthy. People know what architects do. During the first year of architecture school all the little lumps of clay that are freshmen take the same classes where all the projects have an element of each of the three primary professions (urban planning, landscape architecture, and architecture) in order to expose us to the design world at large. In all of my projects I made a box for the building and concentrated on all the “stuff” around it. I had no idea what that box should look like. I didn’t care, it didn’t matter, I would get to it later. This was every single project. My professor was surprised when I declared Architecture as my major. He insisted that I was a landscape architect. No way, that’s not even a real job. But eventually the realization did sink in, I was a landscape architect.

Crud, now I have to deal with the same bias, non-understanding and confusion that I myself had regarding my career path.People don’t know what landscape architects do.Heck they don’t know what to call us most of the time; landscaping architect, landscape designer, master gardener…...the list goes on.Every new person I meet says the same thing when they find out what I do: “Cool! I need you to come look at my yard!” or “I have this tree in my backyard that’s…”.Seriously, EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON.